Changing the Ways
by MLMockingjay
Summary: AU Draco has always wanted and expected to be in Slytherin, and Harry, ever since he found out about Hogwarts, has despised it. But what happens when the sorting hat has other plans for each of them? Will Draco learn to forget his prejudices when he meets a certain muggleborn girl? My first fanfic. Dramione! Please review!
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Hello all! The idea for this story came to me randomly one night when I couldn't sleep. This is my very first fanfic ever, so don't expect it to be much, but I hope you likey :) It needs a title, but I'm planning on picking a few and letting you guys vote for one. Also, I'm really sorry if Draco or anyone else is OOC.

**I do not own Harry Potter in any way…unfortunately :(**

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**Changing the Ways**

**Prologue**

Draco Malfoy was just as nervous as everyone else was when his name was called by Professor McGonagall and he walked up to the stool that the sorting hat sat on–just he tried not to show it. He _was _a Malfoy, after all. He had a reputation to maintain. Draco already knew, of course, what house he would be put in. Slytherin; just as countless other purebloods in his family had been.

It was to be expected that Draco Malfoy would be exactly the same as every other Malfoy before him.

But then he put the hat on his head.

He was very sure of what would happen when he picked up the ragged hat and placed it on his head. His mother and father had told him that he would hardly have to wear it for a second before it would shout, "SLYTHERIN!" So he was a tiny bit surprised when a voice whispered in his ear, "So you want Slytherin, huh?"

Draco nodded and a tiny smirk appeared on his face, only to be gone half a second later as the hat said, "Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen."

Draco frowned as the hat said, "Your family has been in Slytherin for far too long. You are prejudiced, and I believe that a change would be wonderful. Besides, there is a beautiful selection of Gryffindors this year. They might just change you for the better."

And before Draco knew what was happening, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" to the rest of the hall.

Draco was, in the least to say, horrified and embarrassed as he took the hat off of his blonde head before staggering down the steps to the Gryffindor table. _This cannot be happening,_ he kept repeating in his head. Not only was it a violation of his very nature, but also of his family's traditions! What would his father think?

He took his seat next to a bushy-haired girl, who he hoped very much was a pureblood. She looked at him and held out her hand.

"Hermione Granger," she introduced herself.

"Pureblood, half-blood, or muggleborn?" He asked, eyeing her hand warily.

"Er, muggleborn, I suppose," said Hermione. She had read that witches who had non-magical parents were referred to as muggleborn. Draco sneered at her filthy mudblood hand, but then sighed to himself. If he was going to be in Gryffindor for the next seven years, he might as well _try _to get along with them.

"Draco Malfoy," he said, smacking her hand down. Hermione frowned.

"Well there's no need to get so snappy!" She snapped.

Draco smirked, "Says the snapper." She huffed rather angrily at him before turning her attention back to Professor McGonagall as she called the name, "Potter, Harry!" up to the sorting hat. Everyone in the hall, except for a select few, gasped.

"Potter doesn't look so high-and-mighty anymore, does he, Granger?" Draco whispered to Hermione.

"Hush," she reprimanded him quietly, as Harry stumbled up the stairs. Harry placed the hat on his head, and about a minute later it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

The hall gasped again. Draco stared, his mouth open. It seemed like the hat had gotten his and Potter's places mixed up. _Potter_ was supposed to be the brave one, not him. And Draco was _definitely _supposed to be in Slytherin. It seemed that the hat had forgotten that Harry was the one who had survived Voldemort's curse, was the supposed 'Chosen One', the one who was supposed to brave all evils and save the world. Slytherins were cunning, not brave. Most definitely _not_ brave.

The rest of the evening passed rather quietly. Other than a certain very annoying—and as he soon found out, know-it-all—mudblood that he was forced to sit next to, and the occasional Weasley, he actually _enjoyed_ the company of other Gryffindors, which was crazy since it went against everything he knew.

As Draco sank into his bed that night in Gryffindor tower, he was thinking that maybe the hat was right. Maybe this would change him for the better. But of course that was completely crazy. Slytherins. Were. The. _Best._ He wasn't going to let spending only one night with a few measly Gryffindors change that view. He sighed and rolled over in his bed. This was going to be a _very_ long seven years.

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**A/N: **Don't worry! Harry is still going to be 'the Chosen One' and all that jazz. Please, please, _please _let me know if there is anything wrong with my grammar, or if there is anything hard to understand so I can try to correct it in the future. Please tell me if there's anything you don't like. But give me a reason! Don't just say '_I hate the way you write Draco_'. Give me a reason why you hate the way I write Draco. Is his hair too blonde? Is his nose too much like Voldy's? Is he OOC? (I know that he probably _is_ OOC, but I'm open to any suggestions!) Ok, I think that's all for now, besides the titles. Here are my ideas, and if you have any more, don't hesitate to tell me!

A. Life as a Lion

B. A Gryffindor at Heart

C. Changing the Ways

D. What the Sorting Hat Did

I know that they might be a bit cheesy, but like I said before, I'm open to any suggestions that you might have. Just review with your preferred title, mine or yours.

**I have chosen a title, no more voting :(**

Sayonara,

MLMockingjay


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here's chappie one for y'all. Oh, and as you can see, I have chosen a title :) Let me know if there's anything that doesn't match up with the actual books, besides the whole 'Draco in Gryffindor and Harry in Slytherin' thing. **Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews and support! I really appreciate it!** Now, onward to the story!

**I **_**still**_** don't own Harry Potter *sobs***

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**Changing the Ways**

**Chapter 1**

The next morning, Draco walked down to the Great Hall with (very much to his surprise) Hermione Granger.

He found that she was actually nice…for a mudblood, that is. He still thought that her constant 'I know it all' chatter was annoying, but at least he had someone to talk to—or rather, listen to. He finally got fed up with her babble when they were walking down a staircase and she started spouting information about how they moved.

"Granger!" He interrupted her, "do you _ever _stop talking?!"

"Oh. Sorry," Hermione mumbled. "This is all just so fascinating! I understand how _you _can think it normal, having grown up with it and all. I'm a muggleborn, remember? This is still all new to me. I never knew any of this existed before I got my letter."

"How _do _you know all this? Like you said; you're a muggleborn. You shouldn't even know that the staircases are enchanted, much less what spells they are enchanted with!"

She paused for a minute, allowing them time to take their seats at the Gryffindor table, and pile their plates with food.

"I love to read," she said finally.

He burst out laughing, "You're embarrassed because you love to read? Granger, even _I_ love to read"

"What? No!" She said quickly, "No, of course not. Reading is amazing. I'm just—I mean, I don't want you to think I'm a teacher's pet because I can answer every question they ask."

"_I_ could answer every question they ask. Anyone who cares should be able to, Granger."

"Why do you call me that?" She asked suddenly, through a mouthful of egg.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he replied.

"What, are you my mother now?" She asked, rolling her eyes, "Answer my question."

"What class do we have first, Granger?" He cursed himself silently for calling her that, wanting to avoid her question. He had no desire whatsoever to talk about his home life right now—or ever, for that matter.

"Stop avoiding my question, Draco," she said.

"Don't call me Draco," he said avoiding eye contact, and instead looking over at the Slytherin table where Potter was currently eating porridge, "I don't like it."

"I'll stop as soon as you tell me why, _Draco,_" she said stubbornly.

"Why is this such a big deal to you, _Granger_?" He asked, snapping his attention back to her, and looking into her dark caramel eyes, "It's just a name. Get used to it, because I'll be calling you that for a while. I'll tell you in...fourth year!" He said hastily as she glared at him.

Hermione had just opened her mouth to say something else, when owls swooped down from every direction, dropping letters and packages into people's food.

Draco wanted to hide. This is the moment that he had been dreading. His parents would have known the moment that he had been put into Gryffindor, via a magical pen. It was enchanted to scream like a teapot and write the nature of the crime as soon as something untrue to the Malfoy line happened. Talk to a muggleborn, for example. Being put into Gryffindor is another _excellent _reason why it would start screaming.

"Wow. This is _amazing_." Hermione said in awe, pushing her bushy hair out of her face.

A tawny owl swooped down and dropped a pale green letter into Draco's watermelon.

He sighed in relief. At least it wasn't a Howler. He picked up the envelope slowly and turned it over, fingering the silver wax seal. His name was written very neatly in cursive on the front.

"Who is that from?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"It's none of your business," he replied coldly. She scowled and turned away.

Draco opened the envelope and took out the heavy parchment. It read:

_Draco,_

_ What. Have. You. _Done?

_ It was bad enough that you were put into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, but then you go and associate yourself with a _mudblood_? You put that girl, Granger, under the impression that you two might become friends. This is completely unacceptable. If it were up to me, you would have been home the moment that the sorting hat declared you a Gryffindor, but your mother wouldn't allow it. Your education is much more important to her than what house you are in. You may stay under one condition: You are not to speak to the Granger girl again._

_ We have taken the enchantment off of the alert pen in order for me and your mother to get some sleep at night. We trust you to do the right thing. However; if I hear _one word_ about your disobedience, you will be home before you can say 'mudblood'. _

_ I will expect regular reports of your time in Hogwarts._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Lucius Malfoy_

Draco read and re-read the last part about the reports four times before groaning and putting his head into his hands.

_Now_, what was he going to do? He didn't want to befriend Hermione in the first place, it had just sort of happened. He was sure that she was going to be the only one to put up with him, and actually _try _to be friends with him, so he had been nice to her. She turned out to be completely the opposite of what he was expecting. She was nice and smart. Not at all like his parent had said muggleborns were. His parents. That reminded him; _what_ was he going to do about them? He was too afraid to tell them the truth in his reports; that he thought Hermione was nice and was not going to stop speaking to her. He also couldn't _refuse _to write the reports, because then they would come to the school to find out why he hadn't been writing. That left one choice: He had to lie to them. Since the pen was currently out of commission, they wouldn't suspect a thing. As long as he was telling them what they wanted to hear, they would believe him.

"Draco? Draco, what's the matter?" Hermione interrupted his thoughts.

"Nothing," he said, taking his head out of his hands. "Nothing at all." Draco could tell that she didn't believe him, and was relieved when she let it go. "So," he said, forcing a smile, "What class _do _we have first?"

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**A/N: **Yay! Chapter one is done! I'm horrible at coming up with names for chapters, so if you want the chapters to have names, you'll have to come up with them yourself. I might just use the ones that you come up with :) I'll try to update every day while it's still summer break, and then at least once a week when school starts. School starts on August 8th for me! I'm going into ninth grade, and I can't wait to see all my friends again! I might update again today, but I'm not making any promises. **Thanks again, all! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hi! Here's chapter two! It seems like Draco is super OOC in this chapter, but I hope that it's just my imagination.

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**Changing the Ways**

**Chapter 2**

It turned out that the first class the Gryffindors had was Charms with Professor Flitwick. Flitwick was easily the shortest teacher in the school. He had to stand on a pile of books two and a half feet tall just to see over his desk. He introduced himself and gave a brief introduction about the class and what it entailed.

"Today," he said, "I will be putting you into groups of three. Each group will get a questionnaire to fill out in order for you all to get to know each other better. Group number one will consist of Miss Brown, Mr. Finnigan, and Mr. Thomas. Group number two will be Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Weasley. Group number three, since there are just two students left, will consist of myself, Miss Patil, and Mr. Longbottom. Would each group, after assembling themselves, please come up here to collect their questionnaires?"

"Well hi there, Draco." Hermione said after getting their group's questionnaire.

"Come on. Let's go get Wea—er, I mean, Ron," the name sounded strange to Draco.

"How come you'll call _him_ by his first name, but not—"

"Hey, Weasley!" He interrupted Hermione, "Over here!"

Ron made his way slowly over to Hermione and Draco, "Oh great. It's you."

"Oh, quit complaining and let's just get this over with," Draco said.

Hermione looked extremely confused, "Hold on a second. How can you not like each other already? You've just met!"

"Look, er…what's your name again?" Ron asked.

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, look, Hermione. Malfoys, like this one here, hate anyone who is not a pureblood. I…well, I _am_ a pureblood, but my family and I believe in equal rights for all muggles, and muggleborn witches and wizards. We're regarded by all the elite pureblood families as the biggest 'blood traitor' family that there is. To them, we're no more than dirt under their feet. And muggles…well, muggles and muggleborns are even worse. The Malfoys would tread on you and squash you like a small annoying insect. I'm surprised that _this_ Malfoy," Ron pointed at Draco, "hasn't told you to get lost."

"So _that's_ why you won't call me by my first name." Hermione said to Draco, amazed by Ron's speech, "You are so prejudiced that you won't even say my name in fear that it'll get your mouth dirty."

"No, Granger, that's not—"

"Hey! You three," Professor Flitwick interrupted Draco, "Get to work!"

Draco groaned, "Why do we have to fill out this stupid thing anyway?"

"You're the one who told us to, 'Quit complaining and get this over with'." Hermione smirked.

"I said no such thing," Draco lied stubbornly.

"Guys, shut up," Ron sighed, "Hermione, just give me the stupid questionnaire."

"No," Hermione said. "Question number one: What do you like to do in your free time?"

"I like to read," Draco and Hermione said in unison. They looked at each other, and then laughed.

Ron frowned, "I like to play Quidditch."

"Oh yeah, me too," Draco agreed. Hermione pulled out a quill and scratched down their answers.

"Question number two," Hermione read once she was finished writing, "Would you describe yourself as someone who can easily retain information?"

"Yes!" Draco and Hermione answered at the same time.

"Would you guys _please _stop doing that? It's freaking me out," Ron mumbled.

"You think that you know everything, Granger?" Draco asked, paying no attention to Ron.

"Certainly not _everything_, but more than you do," Hermione answered.

"I bet that I can answer every question in class before you can," he boasted.

"I'll hold you to that," she said, confident that she could beat him.

They filled out the rest of the questionnaire quickly, Draco and Hermione having similar answers for many of the questions.

"You guys are so much alike," Ron commented when they had finished. "It scares me."

"And you're not nearly as bad as I thought you were, Weasley." Draco told him.

"Uh, are you sure that you're Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked him, startled that Draco was capable of saying something fairly nice.

When class was dismissed, Draco, Ron, and Hermione walked to Transfiguration together in a companionable silence.

Transfiguration was very different from Charms. Professor McGonagall was nice, but also very strict. Draco's first thought about her was, _I definitely don't want to get on _her_ bad side._ It didn't really matter what side of her you were on, though. It also didn't matter what house you were in. McGonagall treated you the same whether you were a troublemaker or a straight-O student. If you got a question right, she rewarded you, and if you were disobedient, she punished you. Professor McGonagall did not play favorites.

That class passed rather quickly for Hermione and Draco, but not Ron. They were taking notes, and Hermione and Draco were having a sort of contest to see who could take notes faster, but still thoroughly.

At lunch, they had Ron judge their notes. Draco won.

"Don't worry; I'll go easy on you next time," he said smugly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Draco," she replied. "I'll end up winning."

The rest of the week passed like this, Draco always beating Hermione at taking notes (he could write much faster than she could), and Hermione always raising her hand to answer questions before Draco could even find out the answer. Ron thought that they were both crazy, and started refusing to judge their notes. They got Parvati Patil to do it instead, who wondered why they weren't put into Ravenclaw with her twin sister, Padma.

Draco, Ron, and Hermione (and pretty much everyone else in the whole entire school) agreed that History of Magic was the most boring class. Draco and Hermione called a truce of their note-taking contest once a week when that class was in session, in order to give their hands a rest. Ron liked Defense Against the Dark Arts the most, since it was easy and Professor Quirrell allowed them to do whatever they wanted (Hermione scolded him for that). Draco and Hermione both liked Transfiguration, because it was the most challenging. All three of them liked Astronomy, because it gave them an excuse to be outside late at night, even if it did mean taking notes on every star in the sky. They did not particularly like Herbology, although it was Neville's favorite subject.

The three of them were having a particularly good first week…until Friday came along.

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**A/N: **Not the best place to stop, I know, but I was running out of ideas. Again, **thank you so much for your support! Please review!**


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